1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to neckties and, more particularly, to a modification to a standard necktie which allows the tie to be secured to a button-down shirt so as to keep the tie in place.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The traditional necktie is secured about the wearer's neck by means of a knot, and the two opposite ends or “tails” of the tie are allowed to drape down the front of the wearer's shirt from said knot. A major disadvantage of such configuration is that the two tails are free to move and separate, thereby ruining the finished look provided by the necktie. This problem is particularly evident on windy days or when the wearer is moving quickly, since the tie tends to flap around and potentially get damaged. While the narrower tail can often be inserted within a loop on the back of the wider tail, there is nothing preventing the two attached tails from moving.
There have been various attempts in the prior art to utilize a separate object or device designed to attach the tie to the shirt, such as a tie clip or tie pin. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,315,713, which issued to Pileggi on May 31, 1994 for an “Apparatus for restraining a variety of neckties” discloses attachment means on the back of a conventional necktie to secure the tie's normally concealed tail in two positions, and a horizontal member, having buttonholes therein, slidably mounted on the tail between the attachment means which may then be secured to a shirt button to hold the tie in place during normal wear. Another example is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,785, which issued to Graef on Jun. 8, 1993 for a “Tie fastener,” which discloses a tie fastener having three strips of flexible material joined together at one end, wherein an inner strip is buttoned to a shirt, an outer strip is fed through the loop-label of the tie, and an intermediate strip is interposed between the inner and outer strips and serves to cover a shirt button and prevent the loop-label of the tie from catching on the button.
Other examples of separate devices are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,438, which issued to Voiles on Oct. 11, 1994 for a “Necktie restraint” discloses a device including a longitudinal strip of flexible material with a sewn longitudinal button hole on one end and a circular hole on the other and U.S. Pat. No. 5,235,730, which issued to Townsend on Aug. 17, 1993 for a “Concealed necktie holding device” discloses a device constructed in a manner such that is attached to the shirt via a button hole engagement cross-bar and attached to the necktie via a clamp, between which is a rectangular shaped holding device through which the narrow back panel of the necktie is inserted.
There have been numerous attempts to provide attachment means directly to the tie. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,275, which issued to Lee on Apr. 17, 2001 for a “Necktie with fixing device” discloses a fixing device including an elastic member secured to center of an anchoring member, with a small magnet secured to the end of the elastic member for engaging a zipper, belt buckle or other metallic fastening element of a clothing article. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,136, which issued to Ophardt on Apr. 3, 2001 for a “Multipurpose, one piece, variable necktie” discloses a one piece necktie having at least one foldable portion of the front apron constructed from at least two freely foldable flaps.
An alternative to providing a necktie that may be secured to an article of clothing is a shirt that retains or otherwise engages the necktie. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,182,292, which issued to Knoll on Feb. 6, 2001 for a “Shirt with necktie retainer” discloses a shirt with an incorporated necktie retainer for anchoring the two hanging termini of a necktie, so the ends don't encumber the wearer, wherein the vertically directed retainer has a place for two button holes that slip onto the shirt buttons after passing through the longitudinal name tag on the back of the wider hanging portion of a necktie. Another such device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,571,218, which issued to Caniglia on Nov. 5, 1996 for a “Necktie restraining shirt” discloses a shirt provided with a small opening into which the rear tail portion of a necktie can be inserted, or a loop of material through which the rear tail portion of the necktie can be positioned with the front portion of the necktie then overlying the tail portion so as to conceal it, or both an opening to receive the rear tail portion of the necktie and a loop of material for receiving the front visible portion of the necktie.
Such devices, however, fail to offer the unique advantages of the novel secure necktie of the present invention, namely, to provide a necktie that may be attached securely to a button down shirt without the need for any additional securing means.